Update on the presence of Japanese Sardine (Sardinops melanosticta) in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem 2024

During the course of a genetic analysis of population structure of the Pacific sardine (S. sagax) across its northeast Pacific range, the presence of Japanese sardine (S. melanosticta) was documented (Longo et al., 2024). Longo et al. (2024) reported the presence of Japanese sardine in 2022 and 2023, but did not detect its presence from 2013-2021. The presence of Japanese sardine in U.S. waters poses several questions that relate to the management of Pacific sardine and as such genetic methods continue to be used to track its presence in the CCLME. This report presents the results from the 2024 survey.